Nowhere Rising

The Cathedral basement

Sessions 2, 3, and 4

10

JUN/16

After stomping an ooze to death, Arcticias and Lux were beset by Kobolds. They were surprised when during the battle they were joined by a human gunslinger named Kirilov, and a halfling druid with a tiger companion.

After exploring the dungeon, they found a snake-ridden pool in the middle of the hallway with jets of flame preventing any access. Kirilov, after studying the piping above the hall, determined that it was a trap being fueled by oil. After shooting the piping, they were able to set the surface of the water on file and kill the snakes there.

The party then swam across the water, though Kirilov found this tiring and was hereafter fatigued. Lora remained behind to watch their backs.

The party tripped a crude trap on the other side of the water, but Lux was able to go forward and disable the rest of the traps. He was able to spot a kobold ambush, and cleverly shot a note written on soap back to the party. They dispatched the kobolds (with a little help from the turtle now named Frank), save for one injured one which escaped.

After looting the corpes, they realized that the walls were lit by evernburning torches, They promptly went through the effort of removing a torch… and attaching it to Frank. Unable to unlock the door, they went back through the other side (where Lora was waiting calmly on a pile of kobold bodies). They found the other passageway also watery, with a wand of magic missile sending out a steady stream of missiles blocking the way. They were attacked by large spiders which they were fortunately able to avoid getting bitten by, and Lux disabled the wand and took it for them.

From here, they passed under a culvert into an adjacent tunnel, where they encountered a shade and several rats. Seda’s tiger Andowyn scared away most of the rats, leaving only the largest and bravest, and the Shade, to deal with. Arcticias was able to hold them off while Lux used the wand to whittle it down, while Seda and Kirilov took care of the rats.

They retrieved a key from the corpse the rats had been swarming, but they were further able to detect a passageway where the rats had disappeared. Opening this up, they found one path leading up to fresh air, lined by minerals with heavy phosphorous components, and a stairway leading down.

This lead to an ornately carved door with a strong necromantic aura that even with all of his knowledge at his disposal, Arcticias was not able to identify. With a stroke of genius, Lux grabbed a rat and threw it at the door – to witness it being disintegrated to a skeleton and then risen.

They killed the skeletal rat quickly, before hastily retreating.

Upon their return to the next level, they found Lora’s body with unnatural marks as if eaten all over her body. The door to the left of the stairs was now cracked open. Shortly, a skeletal champion and two less robust skeletons appeared in the door. After a tough fight, they were able to reduce them to a pile of bones — upon which they began to rise again.

In the room, they found a large red power gem, in addition to a large amount of loot on a dead half-orc in the corner. The orc’s heart had been ritualistically ripped out. Phosphorescent light was emanating from the statue. Working together, they were able to disable the object on the ceiling that was causing the undead to rise again.